Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Paint Testing in Estuaries

Practical Sailor does a nice job of testing a huge slate of paints in Florida seawater, and occasionally other locations (New England, Australia). Just this month they have a nice round-up. But in many estuaries paint selection can be very local, the salinity and pollutant load situation specific. So run your own private test. When you consider what bottom paint costs, this is quite practical. Share the work and expense around the marina, and it's chump change. Every full-service marina should do this.

Panels: 16" x 48" GRP shower surround material from Home Depot. Since I use this for many other projects around the boat (window covers, wire guards, small fabrications), this is just scrap.

Floats: 2" x 60" PVC pipe with the ends capped.

Mask the panel off into rectangles and paint. The number of coats varies, but I would use 2 for 20year paints and 1 for single season paints, since that is how they would be applied. Drill holes every 12 inches and connect the float tot he panels with 3/16" clothes line or equivalent. Suspend so that it floats with the tide.

My test panels are actually for an article on cleaning method (one is not cleaned, and others will be cleaned using different sorts of scrubbers), but this is the basic paint testing set-up.

I would not bother in seawater--the Practical Sailor tests should be good--but in the upper Chesapeake Bay, for example, this seems obvious.

If I learn anything cool, it will most likely show up in Practical Sailor.

Keeping a Cruising Boat for Peanuts--Available in PDF!

As much as I love sailing, putting my daughter through college and funding my 401K are more important. Transitioning from professional engineer to writer has transformed my habit of living efficiently into a passion for spreading funds thin. I like to think of it as a challenge for the imagination—it’s more fun that way.

I’ve written over 100 equipment reviews and engineering articles for popular sailing magazines, all based on laboratory and hands-on testing. I’ve spent 30 years learning how to maintain, fix, and upgrade. I've also spent 35 years as a chemical engineer, and my wife thinks I live in my basement shop.

As a result I’ve become a fair hand most crafts, never get stuck in the field with something I can’t fix, and I've learned to spread money thin, without compromising speed, reliability, or performance. Although I've written on many topics, my wife assures me this is the one I know best. My magnum opus?

About Me

This is my place to share my enthusiasm for the Chesapeake Bay, Delmarva Peninsula, PDQ And Corsair F-24 specific minutia, and sailing in general. As a regular contributor to sailing magazines including Practical Sailor and Good Old Boat (over 150 articles), it provides a place to try out ideas and publish the overflow. Here I can blurt it out half formed ideas, collect comments, and to see what questions my inquiry suggests. If I need to get long winded or philosophical, it’s my space to do so.
After 15 years of kayaking, 35 years of sailing, 35 years of rock and ice climbing, and 40 years as a chemical engineer, I still have much to learn and my life is still one giant science project. My end of the pier is always festooned with test rigs and warning signs. Every research project brings surprises—things I didn’t know, and just as often, things no one knew. And so through books and articles, I share.